Eye on MCD polls, civic body leaders decide to hold ‘janta darbars’

NEW DELHI: Taking a leaf out of the Aam Aadmi Party’s book, leaders of the BJP-ruled municipal corporations have decided to hold ‘janta darbars’ to connect with

NEW DELHI: Taking a leaf out of the Aam Aadmi Party’s book, leaders of the BJP-ruled municipal corporations have decided to hold ‘janta darbars’ to connect with the people before next year’s civic polls.

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South Delhi mayor Shyam Sharma will be the first to hold a darbar on July 30, with leaders from the north and east civic bodies likely to follow suit soon after.

“The darbar will be an open grievance addressal session where any citizen staying in areas under the south civic body’s jurisdiction can come and complain,” said Sharma.

He said officials present at the darbar will make a note and work towards immediate redressal of the grievances.

Municipal officials said that the event will be held at a community centre in west Delhi, where 4,000 people are expected to attend.

Sources said leaders of other corporations will follow suit and hold meetings next month.

“We expect people to come up to us with problems related to property tax, illegal constructions, the lack of development and other such issues,” said a municipal leader.

Sources said the event is part of the ‘public interaction drive’ initiated by BJP leaders ahead of the municipal elections slated for early next year.

There are three municipal corporations in Delhi, all of which are controlled by the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

“Public interaction has always been a priority for our leaders and our party,” said a leader.

Hindustan Times had earlier reported how unable to initiate any development work due to a financial crunch, the cash-strapped municipal corporations reached out to people by inaugurating and renaming old projects.

“Public interaction has always been a priority for our leaders and our party,” said a party leader.

Until last year, the municipal corporations had cleared nearly 70-odd projects. But in the past five months, more than 400 projects for naming and remaining had been okayed.